Is dying really the end?
by nightmarephantombride
Summary: This is my first fanfic i posted! YAY 4 ME! its pretty much the whole corpse bride storyline viewed from an added character...ME! hope you all read and review...oh, and enjoy! chapter five is here!
1. painful deaths

Hi everyone! My name is nightmarephantombride…or at least my penname is. This is my first fanfic! Yay! It is a little…ummm…depressing I guess, so just be warned. But it is a great story! Oh, and I have already written some of the chapters, so if I update a lot at first, but not much later, its because I'm still working on chapters, 'kay? Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own Corpse Bride, and I don't plan to for a while now. Do I really have to say this?

Chapter 1: Painful deaths

Many people believe that dying is the end. I was one of those people at one time. I believed that when I died, my life would be over…in a manner of speaking, and that everything I knew would be gone. I was right, but even though life stops, time itself goes on forever, even in a different way. When I experienced dying, I experienced something beyond imagining. What I have seen, and done, would change the minds of many individuals. Dying isn't the end, it's only the beginning.

It all began on that fateful day, the day that shattered everything. Some call it the 'miss-shot incident', but I call it 'the day that changed my life forever'. Long, I know, and sort of unimaginative. Heh, but can you blame me? It really was the day that changed my life forever, the day I died. It was a pretty normal day, I was riding to school, talking with my friends, listening to my favorite CD, which just happens to be the 'Corpse Bride' soundtrack, and over all just dreaming of something better. I'm always thinking of the beyond since I saw 'Corpse Bride', and my perspective of death had changed a lot! I'm not really afraid of it any more, like I used to be. I guess I'm just wishing that death is like what it is in 'Corpse Bride', you know…you're dead, but you're really still living in a whole other way! It would be really awesome, but anyways, my friends and I had just got to school, and we were walking down the main hallway when we heard this big commotion up ahead. These two guys were fighting, and one had a gun! I had heard about these kinds of incidents at other schools, and how innocent people had been shot. I really hoped that no one would get hurt…but unfortunately, that wouldn't happen. The guy with the gun was yelling at the other guy, something about bullying him all the time and how he was fed up with it. Suddenly, this teacher comes out of a nearby classroom, and the guy with the gun was so nervous, that he accidentally pulled the trigger…twice! And guess who just happened to be in the way of the bullets. Yep, it was me.

It all happened so fast that I barely remember it. I just remember felling a swift, hard pressure in my shoulder and my chest, and it was such a hard force that I fell back on the ground. I remember the pain coming about that time as I lay there on the ground. It was white hot, and I knew in that instant that there was no hope for me. My friends started crowding around me screaming for me to get up. Everything was sliding in and out of focus. I heard a teacher shout for someone to call an ambulance, and then tell me to hang on. I tried to summon enough strength to say my last words.

"Te-tell…my…parents…and sister…that…I love…the-them…" I choked out, and then everything went black.

Ok…sad chapter. I know it's kinda short, but I am new at this. All I ask for is for you to read and review please. That'll make me happy. Oh, but no flames! I hate flames…and flamers. Please R&R!


	2. so now i'm dead

Only two reviews? Maybe I should change the summary, ah well. Here's the new chapter. Like I told you guys, I already have most of them written up, so they'll be coming pretty quick for a while at least. And this story isn't really as depressing as I said. Its just the first chapter. I realized that earlier. The rest is kinda funny, so you should read it! Please! Hope you all enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 2: So now I'm dead…

I heard someone shout for me. I peeked my eyes open a bit and saw someone standing over me. I sat up and put a hand on my head to steady my vision. It was slowly coming into focus, and I looked around. The person standing over me wasn't exactly a…person. It was a skeleton. It stuck out a hand and helped me up. I stared at the skeleton in disbelief before finally striking up some courage to speak.

"Where am I?" I asked. His face broke out into a wide grin, and before I knew it, he whisked me away down the streets in the little town I had appeared in. I barely got a glimpse of anything because we were going so fast. He pulled me through a door, and everything after that was just pandemonium. I heard a bell clanging and someone yelling,

"NEW ARRIVAL!" I was dragged down some stairs, and was finally able to stop running, but it was about then that I was flooded by people congratulating and welcoming me. For what, I had no clue. It was all really flustering, and after the whirlwind of people stopped coming, I was able to get a good look at my surroundings. I was in a pub of some sort, which is really weird because I'm only fourteen. And all the people were…well…dead! And, it was funny, because I think I recognized some of them, from somewhere or…something. There was this one guy with a giant hole in his middle, probably from some cannonball, and another guy that had a sword stuck in his gut. It was really, really weird! Suddenly, I heard someone pushing his (or her) way through the crowd towards me.

"Welcoming committee coming through!" they yelled. I turned around and saw a short lady in a cook's outfit walk up to me. Her skin was tinted blue and one of her arms had no skin at all, I could see her bones! She took my hand and patted it warmly. "My name is Plum, dear, Miss Plum." She said with a smile. I must have looked kind of funny, standing there staring bug-eyed. It was about then that I remembered my manners.

'Umm, nice to meet you." I said, in that annoying squeaky voice I get when I'm really scared or confused. I was pretty much both at the moment. I noticed that Miss Plum was looking at me with a bit of distaste.

"Why are you wearing pants?" she asked. I was confused for a second, and I followed her gaze to my jeans.

"Oh, you mean my jeans?" I asked. "Everybody wears them!" she gave me a weird look at that statement, but started pulling me through the crowd and sat me down at a bar stool. She lost all interest in my outfit, and asked me a weird question.

"So dear, how old were you when you died?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Do you mean how old am I now?" I asked her.

"No, how old were you when you died?" she said. I stared at her in disbelief.

"But, I'm not dead…" I told her. She chuckled.

"Denying, always the first stage." I was starting to freak out a bit. Why was she telling me I was dead? I then did what lots of people do when they think they're dreaming. I turned around and knocked my head on the counter. But weirdly, I felt no pain at all. That knock must have jolted my brain or something though, because suddenly, it all came back to me. My head shot up.

"The gun…" I murmured.

"Pardon?" Miss Plum asked. I looked at her sadly.

"I am dead…" I said. "At my school, there was a fight, and the gun went off, the bullets…" I trailed off and lifted a trembling finger up to my chest and shoulder. There were two small holes, but there was no pain anymore. I looked nervously at my hand. It was a deathly pale blue. "…wow…" I murmured. "This is different." I felt Miss Plum tentatively touch my shoulder.

"Are you ok?" she asked. I looked back at her. It was the first time I actually looked her straight in the face. She had scraggly hair and her face was sort of squashed, but she looked pretty worried. I looked away.

"I was fourteen." I said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Miss Plum asked. She didn't know what I was talking about.

"Fourteen." I repeated. "I was fourteen when I…died." Miss Plum shook her head sadly.

"Terrible having to die at such a young age, I presume."

"Yeah, it is a bit…" I searched for the word.

"Odd?" she finished for me. I tilted my head a bit.

"Well…you could say that." She gave me a warm smile.

"Don't worry about it. It's not really that bad." I smiled at Miss Plum, glad for a bit of comfort.

"Well, there is one thing that I'm a bit worried about, and it doesn't have to do with me dying." I told her.

"And what's that dear?"

"Should I really be in a bar? I mean, I'm only fourteen!" Miss Plum looked a bit startled at my question. And then before I knew it, she was laughing her head off. "What's so funny?" I asked her, although I couldn't help grinning myself.

"Don't worry about that dear." She chuckled. "Everyone is welcome here, since no one can really get drunk!" We both laughed at that. I really liked Miss Plum, and it was odd because it seemed like I knew her from somewhere too. If only I could remember where.

"Drinks?" someone asked from behind me. I whirled around and gasped. I saw a severed head on the counter. What's more, it was talking to me. Miss Plum chuckled at my reaction.

"No thank you Paul." She said, and the severed head…umm, I mean Paul, scuttled off to some others. I turned to Miss Plum.

"Uh, what was that?" I asked.

"That was Paul, the head waiter." She answered. Whoa, ironic.

"O…kay." I muttered. "Wow, nothing here ceases to surprise me." Miss Plum grinned. Then I saw her wave to someone.

"Over here Emily!" she called. I turned around…yet again…and saw someone coming through the crowd. It was a lady in a tattered wedding dress, and she would have been exceptionally beautiful, if she hadn't been dead, but she was still really pretty. Emily walked over and shook Miss Plum's hand with a smile.

"Hello Miss Plum, it's so good to see you!" she said. Miss Plum shook it warmly back.

"So nice to see you after so long Emily! How have you been?" she asked.

"Well, I'm still waiting for my true love, but it's not so bad all in all. I mean, how many more years could it be? Someone is bound to ask sometime soon." She looked around. "So where is the new arrival?" Miss Plum gestured to me.

"Emily, meet…oh wait, I forgot she hasn't said her name yet." But I wasn't paying any attention to them. The very moment that I saw Emily, something clicked in my brain and I remembered.

"The Corpse Bride…" I whispered.

As everything came back to me, I looked wildly around.

"Emily, Paul, Miss Plum, Bonejangles, General Bonesapart…everyone! I can't believe it!" I murmured.

"Did you say something dear?" Miss Plum asked. But I was still lost in thought. "How could I forget 'Corpse Bride', my favorite movie?" I muttered in disbelief. No wonder I recognized everything, I was in the Land of the Dead and…Corpse Bride?

"Dear?" Miss Plum asked. I stared at her.

"This is soooooo weird!" I exclaimed.

"Pardon?" Emily asked. I looked around. I was in 'the Ball and Socket'! Suddenly, I stood up.

"Um, excuse me, I need to go think about some…stuff." '_Wow, what a lame excuse...' _I thought. I turned around and hurried off up the stairs and out of the bar.

Umm…was that an ok chapter? It was sure long enough! Hope you readers have enjoyed it. I'll write again soon!


	3. Stories of Death

Hey everybody! It's me again! I now have a grand total of four reviews…AND THAT'S NOT A LOT! What's wrong with you guys? Why won't anybody read my story! Its really good, in fact, here's another chapter!

Chapter 3: Stories of Death

I wasn't exactly sure where to go, or more like, I didn't know where to look for where I was going. I wanted to go to the ledge overlooking the town, but I wasn't exactly sure where to look. I just knew to look for stairs…I guess. Eventually, after ages of looking, I found a flight of stairs, and fortunately for me, they led to the ledge. I stood on the edge, looking out onto the town. The view really did take my breath away, as Emily had said. Of course, I didn't actually have any breath to be taken away. Questions whirled in my head as I stared out at a land I had only seen in my dreams. How did I get here when it all never really existed, and why here? Why not somewhere else, like heaven perhaps…if heaven actually exists that is. But if this can exist, why shouldn't heaven? Everything was so jumbled, it was driving me nuts! Suddenly, I heard the soft tap of shoes walking up the stairs. I whirled around and saw Emily coming towards me. She walked to my side and stared across the little town.

"I thought I'd find you here." She said. "Care to explain why you ran off like that?"

"Sorry, that was kinda rude." I apologized. "I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. I laughed.

"Even if I did tell you, you'd probably think I was insane!" I told her. She shrugged.

"Well, if you ever want to talk, I'm here, or waiting by the old oak tree for my true love, but Miss Plum could just show you where that was."

"Umm, what?" I asked.

"Oh, I should probably explain, huh?" She walked over to the bench and motioned for me to sit down next to her. I sat down and stared at her expectantly. She began her story. "Not too long ago, when I was still alive, I met a wonderful man, he was so kind and gentlemanly, and he stole my heart away." She began. "We wanted to marry, but my father wouldn't agree. He said that he wasn't good enough for me, mainly because he was low on his money. My father wanted me to marry someone better." She sighed. "But we were so in love, so we decided to steal away and marry somewhere else, with or without my father's blessings. We were to meet by the old oak tree next to the graveyard to leave together, but he didn't come for so long." She paused. "I was getting a bit nervous, all by myself you know, and I was about to head home, when suddenly a shadow snuck up on me. I turned and saw him there, but before I knew what was happening, he killed me, and when I awoke, dead, he and my family's jewels that he asked me to bring were both gone." She turned and sobbed a little into her dress. I patted her shoulder a bit awkwardly.

"Don't worry Emily, we both had tragic and sudden deaths. I wasn't able to say goodbye to my family either." I sighed a bit and she turned to me with a sympathetic look. Suddenly, she looked curious.

"You know my name, but I don't believe I ever caught yours." She said.

"Wow, I guess I didn't tell anyone my name, almost like I forgot it!" I laughed and stuck out my hand. "My name is Claire."

There, now you know the characters name. Told ya it'd be in the next chapter! Look for another update soonish guys! BYE!


	4. Victor

_Hey guys! Well, seven reviews is pretty good, and thanx to my…umm…three reviewers. Oh well, I should be happy I have any at all! ON WITH THE NEXT CHAPTER!_

_DISCLAIMER: Don't own Corpse Bride, never will. Sad that way isn't it? But I do own Claire…cuz in a way, she is ME! JK!_

Chapter 4: Victor

Truthfully, being dead isn't all that bad, it's just REALLY boring to be stuck in the 'Land of the Dead' in the old Victorian days. No T.V., no video games, no movies, and worst of all, NO INTERNET! I was totally dying (not literally, since I'm already dead) without being able to email my friends or check out although, everyone thought I was dead…so I couldn't email anyone anyways. There just seems to be a downside to everything. My days in the Land of the Dead mostly consisted of hanging around town. Believe it or not, not many kids died in the Victorian days, so I was stuck without a friend. Those little skeleton kids, whom I later learned their names (Annie and Ben) were friendly, and they thought I was pretty fun to play with…but it gets pretty boring, playing nothing but hide and seek all day, especially since I'm fourteen. Sometimes, I was able to find something to do, like I would visit Elder Gutknecht. He was a really nice guy, and was always interested in a chat, and sometimes I borrowed books from him. They were mostly full of spells and ancient history and stuff, but they were relatively interesting. I didn't really have a house to live in, but Emily let me stay in her quarters sometimes. Her bed was a coffin, but I was ok with it. And Elder Gutknecht even let me have a notebook and a pen! I've filled up a lot of it already, half like a diary and half like a journal to write fics in. Hey, just because I'm in a movie that doesn't mean I can't still write about other ones! I even draw in it sometimes too. I've been able been able to pass the time pretty well, and all I have to do is pass time for the rest of my…uh…life, no wait, existence, cuz I'm dead after all. Ugh…I don't even want to think about that. Maybe one day, I'll just die twice…of boredom! Then where will I end up? It was about a week since I had come to the Land of the Dead, and I was in 'the Ball and Socket' working on my latest fic. It just happens to be a Nightmare before Christmas one! It really sucks that I'll never be able to see that movie again, but right now, I'll just have to go by memory. 'The Ball and Socket' was relatively quiet today, and I was taking the opportunity to get some stuff down before anybody bothered me, asking what I was writing about. There are no secrets in the Land of the Dead…except for my secret of being from the future (and another reality)…and I hope no one will ever learn that secret! Everybody treats me pretty well, considering how…odd I look, wearing pants and all. But it's not like I have any other clothes to wear…jeez. But anyways…I was just coming up with some great stuff, when all of the sudden, I heard a bell ring and Miss Plum yelling,

"NEW ARRIVAL!" I quickly shut my notebook and sat tightly in my chair as the flood of corpses entered the bar. It was the first new arrival since me, and I wondered who it was. I saw someone entering the bar, carrying something else. It was Emily! I hadn't seen her since she told me I could use her quarters, and I was anxious to see what she had been up to. But then I recognized who she was carrying. I squinted my eyes to get a better look. It was Victor! THE Victor! From 'Corpse Bride'! I hadn't realized that the whole incident hadn't occurred yet, and I was excited to see it for real! I noticed Victor's eyes beginning to open, and he groaned. Mr. Alfred (the skeleton guy with the pipe) and Emily were leaning over him.

"A new arrival!" Mr. Alfred exclaimed happily as Victor stared around. Emily leaned close to Victor.

"He must have fainted." She said worriedly. She lifted his head up. "Are you alright?" Victor was staring around him with huge eyes.

"Wh-what happened?" he stammered. Mr. Alfred leaned in further.

'By Jove man, looks like we've got ourselves a breather!' he exclaimed in surprise. Miss Plum ran and pushed Mr. Alfred out of the way.

"Ooh! Does he have a dead brother?" she asked. Ben ran up and stared poking Victor's chest with a stick.

"He's still soft!" he announced. I rolled my eyes. Poor Victor must be scared out of his wits right now. He probably thought he was going crazy! I watched as he backed away from the small group against the counter, staring until I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head.

"A toast!" General Bonesapart cried waving his mug in the air. He took a drink, but then General Wellington pulled the sword out of his gut, filled his own mug and drank…and you could see the drink going through the hole in his middle. I couldn't get used to that. Then General Wellington replaced the sword and General Bonesapart went on. "To the newlyweds!" Victor's mouth dropped.

"Newlyweds?" he sputtered. Emily put her hand on his shoulder lovingly.

"Oh, in the woods you said you vows so perfectly!" she sighed, wiggling her fingers, showing off the gleaming gold ring.

"I did?" Victor gasped. He whirled around. "I did!" He sat down and promptly began hitting his head on the counter shouting, "Wake up, wake up!" Suddenly, Paul came through the crowd calling,

"Coming through, coming through." Miss Plum's assistant, I forgot his name…set Paul's tray down on the counter and he scuttled up to Victor. "Hello, my name is Paul, I am the head waiter! I will be creating your wedding feast!" Victor drew back and gasped. I didn't blame him…Paul was nice and all, but the whole being a talking severed head still freaked me out a bit. And then to make matters worse, Emily's eye suddenly popped out and the maggot in her head exclaimed,

"Wedding feast? I'm salivating!" Victor cried out in surprise. Emily put her hand over the socket and laughed somewhat apologetically.

"Maggots…" she grinned. Victor didn't seem to find the matter funny. He let out a surprised, 'oh!' and began to back away into people.

"K-keep away!" he cried. The whole bar went silent. Victor stumbled into my table still looking frantically for an escape. His eyes rested on General Bonesapart and he grabbed the sword, evidentially trying to pull it out. But instead, he lifted the poor guy up in the air. "I've got a…I've got a," he stammered when he realized he hadn't just grabbed the sword. "…Dwarf…and I'm not afraid to use it!" He swung the General around, once into my face, and I gave the poor guy a sympathetic glance. He just grinned at me. "I want some questions, now!" Victor yelled.

"Answers. I think you mean answers." General B. corrected him.

"Thank you, yes, answers." Victor said still holding the sword tightly. "I need answers! What's going on here? Where am I? Who are you?" Emily looked a bit embarrassed.

"Well, that's kind of a long story." She sighed, looking sheepish.

"And what a story it is!" said a voice. Everyone in the bar turned around to look. It was Bonejangles. He and I had become pretty good friends. He was a cool guy to hang out with, and he was giving me singing lessons. I love to sing, but I never got lessons when I was…well, alive. BJ (what I had taken to calling him) went on. "It's a tragic tale of romance, passion, and a murder most foul!"

"This is gonna be good!" General B. told Victor, who promptly dropped him.

_M-kay…so how was that? Was it ok? I need to know people, so if you read, PLEASE REVIEW! That is all for now, TUNE IN SOON! Heh heh! BYE!_


	5. Remains of the day

_Hey everybody! It's me again! I want to say thanks to my reviewers…my only TWO reviewers. I appreciate your reviews Queen B of Randomness 016 and Queen S of Randomness 016. You guys ROCK MY SOCKS! Hope you enjoy the update!_

_Disclaimer: Don't own Corpse Bride…yadda yadda yadda…only own Claire…yadda yadda…ON WITH THE FIC!_

Chapter 5: Remains of the Day

BJ cocked his head, letting his one eyeball fall into the other socket.

"Hit it boys!" he exclaimed. The jazzy music began to play and BJ began his song.

_"Give me a listen, you corpses of cheer! At least those of you that still got an ear! I'll tell you a story, make a skeleton cry, of our own jubaliciously lovely Corpse Bride!"_

I remembered this song from the movie. It was one of my favorite's cuz it has such a catchy tune! And BJ is a really good singer too! Everybody began to sing along.

_"Die, die, we all pass away! But don't ever frown cuz it's really ok! You might try to hide and you might try to pray, but we all end up the remains of the day!_

Victor kept trying to escape from everyone, but he was having no luck so far. BJ sang on.

_"Well, our girl was a beauty known for miles around, when a mysterious stranger came into town! He was plenty good looking, but down on his cash, and our poor little baby, she fell hard and fast! When her daddy said no, she just couldn't cope! So our lovers came up with a plan to elope!_

Everyone sang the chorus again, and I was tempted to join in, but I still didn't feel comfortable enough. While everyone was busy watching the skeletons do their musical solo, I slipped out of the bar, unnoticed.

I walked down the cobbled street on my way back to Emily's quarters to drop off my notebook, when I heard someone yelling in my direction.

"Victor, darling! Where are you?" It was Emily calling for Victor, but when I looked around, he wasn't in sight. Suddenly, someone knocked into me from behind. I fell on the street, and my arm (the one that was all bones) fell off.

"Oh damn it…" I cursed. I grabbed my arm and hurriedly tried to fix it back on my shoulder. It popped back on with a sickening crunch. I hate that sound…one of the worst things about being dead. I'm always loosing body parts, which totally sucks. Then I heard a tiny whimper-like sound. I looked up and saw someone staring at me. It was Victor. He was the one who had knocked me down. He was just sitting there, staring at me with huge, scared eyes…not even bothering to help me up. …some gentleman he is. I glared back at him. "The least you could do is apologize for knocking me over." I huffed and stood up. He was still sitting on the ground, staring fearfully at me. I crossed my arms in annoyance. "I don't bite, you know." I told him and held out my hand to help him up. He glanced at it for a second, before tentatively reaching out. I grasped his hand and pulled him up. He was much, MUCH taller than me. "Whoa dude, you are like literally pencil man!" I giggled. He produced a sad attempt at a smile. I shook my head exasperatedly. "You know, you don't make a good first impression." I stuck out my hand. "Hi, I'm Claire...see, this is called being polite!" Victor shook my hand.

"I-I'm V-Victor Van Dort." He mumbled. I grinned and used one of my favorite movie lines for a response.

"You know, you really shouldn't mumble, cuz I can't understand a word you're saying!" Victor looked utterly baffled. I laughed at his expression. Suddenly, I heard Emily call out again. Victor's eyes widened and he looked scared again.

"I have to go. It was nice to meet you." And he rushed off just as Emily came around the corner.

"Hey Em! Long time, no see!" I greeted her. She shook my hand.

"How have you been Claire?" she asked, smiling. I shrugged.

"Well apart from being dead, I guess I'm ok!" She grinned at me.

"Have you happened to see my husband, Victor, pass through here?" she asked.

"Actually, yes." I told her. "He just came through, not before he nearly killed me…again." Emily looked confused. "Actually, he just knocked me down. It was a joke! You know me by now Emily!" She smiled and ruffled my hair playfully. "Hey!" I cried in mock annoyance, and grinned. "But, don't you think that he seems a bit jumpy?"

"That's what I told her!" the maggot said, popping out of her eye.

"Stop that!" Emily scolded, shoving her eye back in. "He's just a bit nervous, that's all…I think."

"Well, let me help you find him." I told her. She nodded and we started off. Of course…I knew exactly where he was.

_YAY! Another chapter officially finished! Sorry this one took a bit, I have summer school this summer, which really sucks. WISH ME LUCK IN PASSING SUMMER SCHOOL PEOPLE! BYENESS!_


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